Quaden Bayles, 9, broke hearts when his mum Yarraka Bayles shared a clip of him on social media in February in which he asked for a rope to end his life.

After the video went viral, he received an outpouring of support from the public and celebrities, and a GoFundMe page set up to get him to Disneyland raised more than $470,000 (£365,000).

But Quaden’s aunt Mundanara Bayles has announced that Quaden’s mum has decided to ‘get back to the real issue’ and give the money to those in the community who ‘really need it’.

Speaking to NITV News, she said her nephew would have loved to go to the theme park to ‘escape to anywhere that is fun that doesn’t remind him of his day-to-day challenges’.

She continued: ‘But my sister said, “You know what, let’s get back to the real issue”. This little fella has been teased. How many suicides, black or white, in our society have happened due to teasing?’ Mundanara added: ‘We need to come together and work out how to make sure young people like Quaden don’t have to deal with what they have been dealing with.’

It comes after Quaden’s sister jumped to his defence on social media after trolls claiming he is really 18 years old spurred him to delete his social media accounts for a while. Writing on Instagram, Guyala Bayles, 20, said: ‘I say FK the hatters! [sic] You’re the coolest, smartest, strongest and the most sweetest kid I know! You’re not alone and we’re all here for you my bruh’.

Quaden was applauded as he led the Indigenous All-Stars NRL team onto the pitch ahead of a match against the Maori All-Stars last week. The young boy has also received backing from famous faces including actors Hugh Jackman and Mark Hamill and singer Cardi B.